Roma boss Gian Piero Gasperini couldnโt hide his frustration following his sideโs 2-1 away defeat to Como at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia.
Second-half goals from Anastasios Douvikas and Diego Carlos cancelled out Donyell Malenโs early, well-taken penalty. This kept the points lakeside and pushed the hosts back up to fourth in the Serie A standings, while Roma slipped down to sixth.
In what was the Giallorossiโs 10th defeat of the league campaign, Gasperini was particularly disgruntled by Wesleyโs second yellow card offence just past the hour mark.
Summarising decisively, the experienced manager told the media, โWe paid for three things: the defensive error on the first goal, Malenโs failure to pass to Pellegrini, which could have restored the lead. Then Wesleyโs red card, but I prefer to overlook that.โ
This didnโt last, however, as the coach reconsidered foul-winning scenarios: โWesley didnโt commit a foul; itโs clear to see. He even moves aside to avoid Diao.
โItโs not the first time Como has had these situations. Theyโre also attempted a bit too much. This is what football has become. Weโre involved today, and I wonโt go into the details, but I donโt like it, and you know it. Iโve spoken about these things before. In Genoa, there was a clear penalty that made us win 2-1. Weโre unlucky.โ
Clearly, another aspect for the 68-year-old, was freshness in the legs and ongoing absences in the Roma camp. He continued, โWeโre trying to recover injured players like Hermoso and El Shaarawy. When the opponents bring on fresh, quality players, we suffer.
โThese guys are giving their all in a difficult situation. Weโre not doing well with these incidents. We have to hold firm now, but the championship is still long, and we hope to reap in April and May what we havenโt achieved in these last few matchdays.โ
Romaโs next match comes in the Europa League Round of 16, as they host Bologna in the second leg after an initial 1-1 draw at the Stadio Renato DallโAra.
GIFNย |ย Max Bradfield
